It is known to accommodate several (4 to 12) vacuum pumps within a housing and to provide only one motor for their drive. For pump aggregations of this kind, the term "multiple connection" has gained acceptance. Usually, these multiple connections are used to connect rotary vane pumps. They are frequently applied in the filament lamp and tube industry.
In the case of a known multiple connection, the pumps are arranged in two rows. Each one of the pump shafts is equipped with a chain wheel. Each pump row is allocated a separate chain drive. A motor drives a shaft that goes through the case. This shaft is equipped with two chain wheels which are allocated to the pump chain drives. The space requirement of the two separate chain drives and of the drive shaft through the case is relatively high.